1 March 2018
On Monday, Year 6 travelled to Christ Church Cathedral to perform St Frideswide, a cantata with words and music by Debbie Rose, Director of Music at Abingdon Prep. St Frideswide was an abbess who founded a priory on the site of what is now Christ Church, and she has become known as the patron saint of Oxford. The first part of the afternoon took the form of a talk by Ruth Buckley, a St Frideswide expert, so the audience arrived well informed to hear the boys sing.
Year 6 sang beautifully with pure tone and clear diction, and the story of the saint’s life gradually unfolded through the nine songs, dramatic action and linking narration. It was a fabulous experience for the boys to perform in such a wonderful venue, and the lively acoustic carried their voices to every nook and cranny of the building. St Frideswide would have been truly honoured to have heard them.
Christ Church has very kindly made a donation to the school charity as a thank you to APS.